diff --git a/docs/turn-loop/config.md b/docs/turn-loop/config.md
index 044bed95..0cfba598 100644
--- a/docs/turn-loop/config.md
+++ b/docs/turn-loop/config.md
@@ -132,7 +132,7 @@ setups.
 
 ```nix
 hyperhive.forge.url = "http://forge.example:3000";  # default: null
-hyperhive.matrix.url = "http://localhost:8008";     # default
+hyperhive.matrix.url = "https://matrix.example";    # default: null
 ```
 
 **`hyperhive.forge.url`** — base URL of the Forgejo instance. Used by
@@ -155,12 +155,22 @@ flake without one, so `null` only survives where the agent modules are
 evaluated outside a hive.
 
 **`hyperhive.matrix.url`** — homeserver URL used by
-`hive-matrix-daemon` when connecting via the matrix-sdk. Default
-(`localhost:8008`) is overridden by hive-c0re at deploy time to the
-gateway-routed `matrix.<domain>` URL so isolated agents can reach the
-homeserver. Override per-agent when an agent should talk to a
-different homeserver — for example a remote hive's tuwunel reached
-over a VPN, or an external Matrix server for a federation-only agent.
+`hive-matrix-daemon` when connecting via the matrix-sdk. hive-c0re
+writes it into every agent at deploy time as the gateway-routed
+`matrix.<domain>` URL, so isolated agents can reach the homeserver.
+Override per-agent when an agent should talk to a different homeserver
+— for example a remote hive's tuwunel reached over a VPN, or an
+external Matrix server for a federation-only agent.
+
+**Defaults to `null`, meaning "no matrix" — for the same reason
+`forge.url` does.** The homeserver may live on another host, and a
+loopback default resolves inside the agent's own netns to the agent,
+so it would be a value that evaluates fine and then talks to the wrong
+machine. With `null` the daemon has no homeserver and no-ops exactly as
+it does without a token. The hive only forwards `HIVE_MATRIX_URL` when
+it actually has a matrix vhost to name, so `null` survives where a hive
+runs no homeserver, or where the agent modules are evaluated outside a
+hive.
 
 ## Claude Code plugins
 
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/matrix.rs b/hive-c0re/src/matrix.rs
index eff37f84..d724194c 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/matrix.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/matrix.rs
@@ -14,14 +14,39 @@ use reqwest::StatusCode;
 
 use crate::coordinator::Coordinator;
 
-/// nspawn container name for the matrix homeserver — mirrors
-/// `hive-forge` and matches the bare-name allow-list the lifecycle
-/// scanner skips over.
-const MATRIX_CONTAINER: &str = "hive-matrix";
-/// Local-host URL of the tuwunel client-server API. Shares the host
-/// netns so `localhost:<port>` resolves both from the daemon and from
-/// inside any sub-agent container.
-const MATRIX_HTTP: &str = "http://localhost:8008";
+/// Client-server API base this daemon provisions against, from
+/// `HIVE_MATRIX_API_URL` (set by `hive-c0re.nix` from
+/// `hyperhive.matrix.apiUrl`).
+///
+/// `None` means **this hive has no homeserver to provision against** and
+/// every matrix path no-ops — see [`is_present`]. There is deliberately no
+/// fallback: `localhost:8008` is right only when the homeserver happens to
+/// share this daemon's netns, and an address baked into the binary is one
+/// that builds fine and then talks to the wrong machine. The nix module
+/// supplies the loopback address when it is itself the thing running
+/// tuwunel, where it is not a guess but a fact about what it just started.
+///
+/// Also not an agent-facing address either way. An agent has its own netns;
+/// agents are handed the gateway vhost via `HIVE_MATRIX_URL`, and get
+/// nothing at all when the hive has no vhost to offer.
+fn matrix_http() -> Option<&'static str> {
+    static BASE: std::sync::OnceLock<Option<String>> = std::sync::OnceLock::new();
+    BASE.get_or_init(|| std::env::var("HIVE_MATRIX_API_URL").ok())
+        .as_deref()
+}
+
+/// [`matrix_http`] for the call sites that propagate with `?`.
+///
+/// # Errors
+/// When no homeserver is configured. Reaching one of these paths at all
+/// means an [`is_present`] gate was skipped, so the message names that
+/// rather than the missing variable.
+fn matrix_base() -> Result<&'static str> {
+    matrix_http().context(
+        "matrix: no homeserver configured (hyperhive.matrix.apiUrl / HIVE_MATRIX_API_URL) — \
+         this path should have been gated on matrix::is_present()",
+    )
+}
 /// Length (bytes) of the random registration token. 32 raw bytes ⇒
 /// 64-char hex string; comfortable for a long-lived shared secret.
 const REGISTER_TOKEN_BYTES: usize = 32;
@@ -107,15 +132,17 @@ pub fn hive_chat_room_id_path() -> PathBuf {
     crate::paths::matrix_chat_room_id()
 }
 
-/// Probe whether `hive-matrix` exists as a nixos-container. Cheap —
-/// `nixos-container list` is just a directory scan in /etc. Same shape
-/// as `forge::is_present` — routed through hive-priv since
-/// `nixos-container` needs root and hive-c0re runs unprivileged.
-pub async fn is_present() -> bool {
-    let Ok(stdout) = crate::priv_client::list_containers().await else {
-        return false;
-    };
-    stdout.lines().any(|l| l.trim() == MATRIX_CONTAINER)
+/// Whether this hive has a homeserver to provision against.
+///
+/// **A configured API URL, not a local container.** It used to scan
+/// `nixos-container list` for `hive-matrix`, which answers a different
+/// question — "is the homeserver a container on this host" — and so made a
+/// remote homeserver silently no-op no matter how it was addressed. The
+/// nix module still supplies the loopback URL whenever it runs tuwunel
+/// itself, so a co-located hive behaves exactly as before.
+#[must_use]
+pub fn is_present() -> bool {
+    matrix_http().is_some()
 }
 
 /// Read `n` cryptographic-quality bytes from `/dev/urandom` and return
@@ -178,7 +205,8 @@ async fn register_post(
     client: &reqwest::Client,
     body: &serde_json::Value,
 ) -> Result<(StatusCode, serde_json::Value)> {
-    let url = format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/register");
+    let base = matrix_base()?;
+    let url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/register");
     let resp = client
         .post(&url)
         .json(body)
@@ -275,7 +303,8 @@ fn extract_access_token(body: &serde_json::Value) -> Result<String> {
 /// in which case manual recovery via `hivectl matrix create-user` is
 /// required.
 async fn login_user(client: &reqwest::Client, agent: &str, password: &str) -> Result<String> {
-    let url = format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/login");
+    let base = matrix_base()?;
+    let url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/login");
     let body = serde_json::json!({
         "type": "m.login.password",
         "identifier": {
@@ -340,9 +369,10 @@ async fn discover_admin_room_id(
     admin_token: &str,
     server_name: &str,
 ) -> Result<String> {
+    let base = matrix_base()?;
     // #admins:server → %23admins%3A<server>
     let encoded_alias = format!("%23admins%3A{server_name}");
-    let url = format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/directory/room/{encoded_alias}");
+    let url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/directory/room/{encoded_alias}");
     let resp = client
         .get(&url)
         .bearer_auth(admin_token)
@@ -479,10 +509,11 @@ async fn admin_room_send_and_poll<T>(
     command: &str,
     check: impl Fn(&str) -> Option<T>,
 ) -> Result<T> {
+    let base = matrix_base()?;
     // Send the command; record the event_id so we can use it as an anchor.
     let txn_id = random_hex(8)?;
     let send_url =
-        format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{room_url}/send/m.room.message/{txn_id}");
+        format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{room_url}/send/m.room.message/{txn_id}");
     let send_resp = client
         .put(&send_url)
         .bearer_auth(admin_token)
@@ -507,8 +538,7 @@ async fn admin_room_send_and_poll<T>(
     // on each tick. Walk the list until we hit our own command event_id;
     // everything *before* that marker arrived after our command.
     let own_user_id = format!("@{HIVE_ADMIN_LOCALPART}:{server_name}");
-    let poll_url =
-        format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{room_url}/messages?dir=b&limit=20");
+    let poll_url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{room_url}/messages?dir=b&limit=20");
     for _ in 0..15_u8 {
         tokio::time::sleep(std::time::Duration::from_secs(1)).await;
         let poll_json = client
@@ -763,7 +793,7 @@ pub async fn sync_agent(client: &reqwest::Client, name: &str, register_token: &s
 /// setup in [`ensure_all`] so the rebuild path and the startup sweep
 /// stay equivalent. No-op when the matrix container is absent.
 pub async fn sync_agent_standalone(name: &str) {
-    if !is_present().await {
+    if !is_present() {
         return;
     }
     let register_token = match ensure_register_token() {
@@ -933,7 +963,8 @@ fn persist_password(localpart: &str, password: &str) {
 /// `GET /_matrix/key/v2/server` (unauthenticated federation key endpoint).
 /// The response JSON always includes `"server_name"` per the matrix spec.
 pub async fn discover_server_name(client: &reqwest::Client) -> Result<String> {
-    let url = format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/key/v2/server");
+    let base = matrix_base()?;
+    let url = format!("{base}/_matrix/key/v2/server");
     let resp = client
         .get(&url)
         .send()
@@ -995,7 +1026,8 @@ fn persist_space_room_id(room_id: &str) -> Result<()> {
 /// Name-based (not alias-based) rediscovery keeps the Space free of any
 /// special-char room alias — the hardcoded plain name is the anchor.
 async fn find_space_by_name(client: &reqwest::Client, admin_token: &str) -> Option<String> {
-    let joined_url = format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/joined_rooms");
+    let base = matrix_http()?;
+    let joined_url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/joined_rooms");
     let joined: serde_json::Value = client
         .get(&joined_url)
         .bearer_auth(admin_token)
@@ -1012,8 +1044,7 @@ async fn find_space_by_name(client: &reqwest::Client, admin_token: &str) -> Opti
         };
         let encoded = encode_room_id_for_url(room_id);
         // Must be an m.space (m.room.create `type`).
-        let create_url =
-            format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded}/state/m.room.create/");
+        let create_url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded}/state/m.room.create/");
         let is_space = match client
             .get(&create_url)
             .bearer_auth(admin_token)
@@ -1031,8 +1062,7 @@ async fn find_space_by_name(client: &reqwest::Client, admin_token: &str) -> Opti
             continue;
         }
         // …and named HIVE_SPACE_NAME (m.room.name `name`).
-        let name_url =
-            format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded}/state/m.room.name/");
+        let name_url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded}/state/m.room.name/");
         let name_matches = match client.get(&name_url).bearer_auth(admin_token).send().await {
             Ok(r) if r.status().is_success() => r
                 .json::<serde_json::Value>()
@@ -1065,6 +1095,7 @@ async fn find_space_by_name(client: &reqwest::Client, admin_token: &str) -> Opti
 /// Returns an error if the homeserver is unreachable, `createRoom` fails,
 /// or the room-ID file cannot be written.
 pub async fn ensure_hive_space(client: &reqwest::Client, admin_token: &str) -> Result<String> {
+    let base = matrix_base()?;
     // 1. Stored room id wins (fast path).
     if let Ok(existing) = std::fs::read_to_string(hive_space_room_id_path()) {
         let trimmed = existing.trim().to_owned();
@@ -1083,7 +1114,7 @@ pub async fn ensure_hive_space(client: &reqwest::Client, admin_token: &str) -> R
     }
 
     // 3. Create the space (plain hardcoded name, no alias).
-    let url = format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/createRoom");
+    let url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/createRoom");
     let body = serde_json::json!({
         "name": HIVE_SPACE_NAME,
         "creation_content": { "type": "m.space" },
@@ -1133,7 +1164,8 @@ fn persist_chat_room_id(room_id: &str) -> Result<()> {
 /// room instead of spawning a duplicate. `None` if the homeserver is
 /// unreachable or no match exists.
 async fn find_chat_room_by_name(client: &reqwest::Client, admin_token: &str) -> Option<String> {
-    let joined_url = format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/joined_rooms");
+    let base = matrix_http()?;
+    let joined_url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/joined_rooms");
     let joined: serde_json::Value = client
         .get(&joined_url)
         .bearer_auth(admin_token)
@@ -1150,8 +1182,7 @@ async fn find_chat_room_by_name(client: &reqwest::Client, admin_token: &str) ->
         };
         let encoded = encode_room_id_for_url(room_id);
         // Skip the Space itself (and any other m.space).
-        let create_url =
-            format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded}/state/m.room.create/");
+        let create_url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded}/state/m.room.create/");
         let is_space = match client
             .get(&create_url)
             .bearer_auth(admin_token)
@@ -1169,8 +1200,7 @@ async fn find_chat_room_by_name(client: &reqwest::Client, admin_token: &str) ->
             continue;
         }
         // …and named HIVE_CHAT_ROOM_NAME (m.room.name `name`).
-        let name_url =
-            format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded}/state/m.room.name/");
+        let name_url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded}/state/m.room.name/");
         let name_matches = match client.get(&name_url).bearer_auth(admin_token).send().await {
             Ok(r) if r.status().is_success() => r
                 .json::<serde_json::Value>()
@@ -1196,11 +1226,11 @@ async fn set_room_state(
     state_key: &str,
     content: &serde_json::Value,
 ) -> Result<()> {
+    let base = matrix_base()?;
     let encoded_room = encode_room_id_for_url(room_id);
     let encoded_key = encode_room_id_for_url(state_key);
-    let url = format!(
-        "{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded_room}/state/{event_type}/{encoded_key}"
-    );
+    let url =
+        format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded_room}/state/{event_type}/{encoded_key}");
     let resp = client
         .put(&url)
         .bearer_auth(admin_token)
@@ -1243,6 +1273,7 @@ pub async fn ensure_hive_chat_room(
     space_room_id: &str,
     server_name: &str,
 ) -> Result<String> {
+    let base = matrix_base()?;
     // 1. Stored room id wins (fast path). 2. Rediscover by name before
     //    creating (prevents duplicates after a state wipe). 3. Create.
     let room_id = if let Some(id) = std::fs::read_to_string(hive_chat_room_id_path())
@@ -1259,7 +1290,7 @@ pub async fn ensure_hive_chat_room(
     } else {
         // `initial_state` is applied after the preset-derived state, so the
         // restricted join rule overrides private_chat's invite-only default.
-        let url = format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/createRoom");
+        let url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/createRoom");
         let body = serde_json::json!({
             "name": HIVE_CHAT_ROOM_NAME,
             "topic": HIVE_CHAT_ROOM_TOPIC,
@@ -1359,11 +1390,12 @@ async fn room_membership(
     encoded_room_id: &str,
     user_id: &str,
 ) -> Option<String> {
+    let base = matrix_http()?;
     // `:` must be percent-encoded in both the room-id and user-id path
     // segments; `@` and `!` are permitted path characters per RFC 3986.
     let encoded_user = user_id.replace(':', "%3A");
     let url = format!(
-        "{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded_room_id}/state/m.room.member/{encoded_user}"
+        "{base}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded_room_id}/state/m.room.member/{encoded_user}"
     );
     let resp = client
         .get(&url)
@@ -1391,6 +1423,7 @@ async fn invite_user_id(
     room_id: &str,
     user_id: &str,
 ) -> Result<()> {
+    let base = matrix_base()?;
     // `:` must be percent-encoded in the room-id path segment; `!` is
     // permitted in URL path characters per RFC 3986.
     let encoded_room_id = room_id.replace(':', "%3A");
@@ -1405,7 +1438,7 @@ async fn invite_user_id(
         return Ok(());
     }
 
-    let url = format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded_room_id}/invite");
+    let url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/rooms/{encoded_room_id}/invite");
     let resp = client
         .post(&url)
         .bearer_auth(admin_token)
@@ -1485,8 +1518,9 @@ async fn resolve_room_alias(
     admin_token: &str,
     alias: &str,
 ) -> Result<String> {
+    let base = matrix_base()?;
     let encoded = alias.replace('#', "%23").replace(':', "%3A");
-    let url = format!("{MATRIX_HTTP}/_matrix/client/v3/directory/room/{encoded}");
+    let url = format!("{base}/_matrix/client/v3/directory/room/{encoded}");
     let resp = client
         .get(&url)
         .bearer_auth(admin_token)
@@ -1517,7 +1551,7 @@ async fn resolve_room_alias(
 /// dashboard banner on persistent failure (this sweep re-runs every 30
 /// minutes, so a one-off blip self-heals without ever bannering).
 pub async fn ensure_all() -> bool {
-    if !is_present().await {
+    if !is_present() {
         tracing::debug!("matrix: hive-matrix container absent, skipping user sweep");
         return true;
     }
diff --git a/hive-c0re/src/server.rs b/hive-c0re/src/server.rs
index b9caf19f..26803aa2 100644
--- a/hive-c0re/src/server.rs
+++ b/hive-c0re/src/server.rs
@@ -463,13 +463,19 @@ async fn handle_set_resource_limits(
     )]))
 }
 
-/// Guard: matrix provisioning needs the homeserver container running.
-async fn require_matrix_present() -> Result<()> {
-    if crate::matrix::is_present().await {
+/// Guard: matrix provisioning needs a homeserver to provision against.
+///
+/// Answers "is one configured", not "is one running here" — the message names
+/// both ways to get there, since a hive that talks to someone else's
+/// homeserver never enables the local container at all.
+fn require_matrix_present() -> Result<()> {
+    if crate::matrix::is_present() {
         return Ok(());
     }
     anyhow::bail!(
-        "hive-matrix container not running — start it (services.hyperhive.matrix.enable = true) before provisioning matrix users"
+        "no matrix homeserver configured — set services.hyperhive.matrix.enable = true to run one \
+         here, or services.hyperhive.matrix.apiUrl to point at an existing one, before \
+         provisioning matrix users"
     )
 }
 
@@ -477,7 +483,7 @@ async fn handle_matrix_create_user(
     name: &hive_types::Ident,
     password: Option<&str>,
 ) -> Result<HostResponse> {
-    require_matrix_present().await?;
+    require_matrix_present()?;
     let register_token =
         crate::matrix::ensure_register_token().context("read matrix register token")?;
     let client = matrix_http_client()?;
@@ -689,7 +695,7 @@ async fn handle_push_snapshot(
 }
 
 async fn handle_matrix_sync_admin() -> Result<HostResponse> {
-    require_matrix_present().await?;
+    require_matrix_present()?;
     let register_token =
         crate::matrix::ensure_register_token().context("read matrix register token")?;
     let client = matrix_http_client()?;
@@ -707,7 +713,7 @@ async fn handle_matrix_sync_admin() -> Result<HostResponse> {
 }
 
 async fn handle_matrix_promote_user(name: &str) -> Result<HostResponse> {
-    require_matrix_present().await?;
+    require_matrix_present()?;
     let admin_token = crate::matrix::read_admin_token()?;
     let client = matrix_http_client()?;
     let server_name = crate::matrix::discover_server_name(&client)
@@ -722,7 +728,7 @@ async fn handle_matrix_promote_user(name: &str) -> Result<HostResponse> {
 }
 
 async fn handle_matrix_invite(user: &str, room: Option<&str>) -> Result<HostResponse> {
-    require_matrix_present().await?;
+    require_matrix_present()?;
     let admin_token = crate::matrix::read_admin_token()?;
     let client = matrix_http_client()?;
     let server_name = crate::matrix::discover_server_name(&client)
@@ -742,7 +748,7 @@ async fn handle_matrix_invite(user: &str, room: Option<&str>) -> Result<HostResp
 }
 
 async fn handle_matrix_reset_password(name: &str) -> Result<HostResponse> {
-    require_matrix_present().await?;
+    require_matrix_present()?;
     let admin_token = crate::matrix::read_admin_token()?;
     let client = matrix_http_client()?;
     let server_name = crate::matrix::discover_server_name(&client)
diff --git a/hive-matrix-mcp/src/accounts.rs b/hive-matrix-mcp/src/accounts.rs
index 8e2ec5fd..d7cdb9ec 100644
--- a/hive-matrix-mcp/src/accounts.rs
+++ b/hive-matrix-mcp/src/accounts.rs
@@ -46,13 +46,15 @@ pub struct AccountCfg {
 }
 
 impl AccountCfg {
-    /// Resolve the effective homeserver URL (per-account override or
-    /// the daemon-wide default).
+    /// The effective homeserver URL — this account's own, else the
+    /// daemon-wide `HIVE_MATRIX_URL` — or `None` when neither is set.
+    ///
+    /// `None` is a real answer, not a failure: the account is skipped, the
+    /// same way [`discover_token_accounts_in`] already skips a discovered
+    /// token whose homeserver sidecar is missing.
     #[must_use]
-    pub fn homeserver(&self) -> String {
-        self.homeserver
-            .clone()
-            .unwrap_or_else(paths::homeserver_url)
+    pub fn homeserver(&self) -> Option<String> {
+        self.homeserver.clone().or_else(paths::homeserver_url)
     }
 }
 
diff --git a/hive-matrix-mcp/src/main.rs b/hive-matrix-mcp/src/main.rs
index 73b76995..3bbb77ab 100644
--- a/hive-matrix-mcp/src/main.rs
+++ b/hive-matrix-mcp/src/main.rs
@@ -265,7 +265,17 @@ async fn bring_up_account(
     tag: Option<String>,
     is_primary: bool,
 ) -> Result<Option<(Client, SyncLoop)>> {
-    let homeserver = cfg.homeserver();
+    let Some(homeserver) = cfg.homeserver() else {
+        // No homeserver for this account: the hive has none to offer (no
+        // matrix vhost) or this agent's `hyperhive.matrix.url` is null. Same
+        // no-op as a missing token — an absent integration, not a guess at
+        // one.
+        tracing::info!(
+            account = %cfg.name,
+            "no homeserver configured (HIVE_MATRIX_URL unset); skipping account"
+        );
+        return Ok(None);
+    };
     if !tokio::fs::try_exists(&cfg.token_file)
         .await
         .unwrap_or(false)
diff --git a/hive-matrix-mcp/src/paths.rs b/hive-matrix-mcp/src/paths.rs
index cac9bbf1..bb6e8f59 100644
--- a/hive-matrix-mcp/src/paths.rs
+++ b/hive-matrix-mcp/src/paths.rs
@@ -6,12 +6,6 @@
 
 use std::path::PathBuf;
 
-/// Default homeserver URL when `HIVE_MATRIX_URL` isn't set. Tuwunel
-/// (the local hive-matrix container) listens on `localhost:8008` by
-/// default; shared host netns means every agent container resolves
-/// `localhost` to the same machine.
-pub const DEFAULT_HOMESERVER: &str = "http://localhost:8008";
-
 /// Resolve the matrix access-token file path. Override via
 /// `HIVE_MATRIX_TOKEN_FILE`; default is `<HYPERHIVE_STATE_DIR>/matrix-token`,
 /// the path `hive-c0re::matrix::ensure_user_for` writes to on agent
@@ -25,11 +19,19 @@ pub fn token_file() -> PathBuf {
     PathBuf::from(format!("{state_dir}/matrix-token"))
 }
 
-/// Resolve the homeserver URL. Override via `HIVE_MATRIX_URL`; default
-/// is the in-container `localhost:8008` tuwunel.
+/// Resolve the homeserver URL from `HIVE_MATRIX_URL`, or `None` when the
+/// harness didn't set one.
+///
+/// There is deliberately no built-in default. A hardcoded `localhost:8008`
+/// used to stand in here, on the reasoning that the tuwunel container shares
+/// the host netns — but *this daemon runs inside an agent*, which does not, so
+/// that address named the agent itself. Unset means the hive has no homeserver
+/// to offer this agent, and the daemon no-ops exactly as it does without a
+/// token; guessing would be a value that starts fine and then talks to the
+/// wrong machine.
 #[must_use]
-pub fn homeserver_url() -> String {
-    std::env::var("HIVE_MATRIX_URL").unwrap_or_else(|_| DEFAULT_HOMESERVER.to_owned())
+pub fn homeserver_url() -> Option<String> {
+    std::env::var("HIVE_MATRIX_URL").ok()
 }
 
 /// Persistent sqlite store directory for matrix-sdk's state (event
diff --git a/nix/agent-modules/matrix.nix b/nix/agent-modules/matrix.nix
index efcf39fd..23f5d3d2 100644
--- a/nix/agent-modules/matrix.nix
+++ b/nix/agent-modules/matrix.nix
@@ -11,12 +11,6 @@
 }:
 let
   userName = config.hyperhive.user.name;
-  # Single source of truth for the default matrix homeserver URL, shared
-  # by the `hyperhive.matrix.url` option default and the daemon-unit guard
-  # that decides whether to set a unit-level HIVE_MATRIX_URL (so the two
-  # cannot drift). Matches the daemon's own built-in default
-  # (`paths::DEFAULT_HOMESERVER`).
-  matrixUrlDefault = "http://localhost:8008";
   # Rasterize the operator-set agent icon (`hyperhive.icon`, an SVG) to a
   # 512x512 PNG so the matrix daemon can upload it as each account's avatar
   # over the live authenticated Client (see hive-matrix-mcp::client::sync_avatar).
@@ -36,13 +30,13 @@ in
       When true (the default), the harness:
 
       - runs `hive-matrix-daemon` as a systemd unit that holds a
-        matrix-sdk Client + sync against the homeserver at
-        `HIVE_MATRIX_URL` (default `http://localhost:8008` — the
-        in-host tuwunel from `nix/host-modules/hive-matrix.nix`). The
-        daemon auto-skips when `<state>/matrix-token` is missing,
-        and a `systemd.paths` watcher restarts it the moment
-        hive-c0re provisions the token (same path-trigger shape
-        as `forge-avatar-sync`).
+        matrix-sdk Client + sync against the homeserver named by
+        `HIVE_MATRIX_URL` (see `hyperhive.matrix.url` — there is no
+        default, since an agent's own netns makes a loopback guess
+        wrong). The daemon auto-skips when that URL or
+        `<state>/matrix-token` is missing, and a `systemd.paths`
+        watcher restarts it the moment hive-c0re provisions the token
+        (same path-trigger shape as `forge-avatar-sync`).
       - exposes the matrix tool surface (send_message, send_dm,
         send_reaction, send_reply, mark_read, list_rooms,
         list_room_members, read_room) to claude via an auto-injected
@@ -63,17 +57,27 @@ in
   };
 
   options.hyperhive.matrix.url = lib.mkOption {
-    type = lib.types.str;
-    default = matrixUrlDefault;
+    type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.str;
+    default = null;
     example = "https://matrix.darkest.space";
     description = ''
       Matrix homeserver URL the agent's `hive-matrix-daemon` connects
-      to. At runtime hive-c0re forwards the isolation-aware URL
-      (`matrix.<domain>` via the gateway) so isolated agents reach
-      the homeserver without crossing host loopback. Override
-      per-agent when an agent should talk to an external homeserver
-      instead (e.g. a federation-only setup or a remote hive's
-      tuwunel reached via a vpn).
+      to. hive-c0re writes this per agent from the hive's own
+      isolation-aware URL (`matrix.<domain>` via the gateway), so a
+      generated agent config always carries a real value; set it by
+      hand only when an agent should talk to an external homeserver
+      instead (a federation-only setup, or a remote hive's tuwunel
+      reached over a vpn).
+
+      **`null` means "no matrix", not "guess one".** There is
+      deliberately no loopback default: the homeserver may run on a
+      different host from the agents, and inside an agent's network
+      namespace `localhost` reaches the agent rather than the
+      homeserver, so a default would be a value that builds fine and
+      then talks to the wrong machine. When this is `null` the daemon
+      is left without a homeserver and no-ops, exactly as it does when
+      the token file is absent --- an absent integration, never a
+      misdirected one.
     '';
   };
 
@@ -240,15 +244,15 @@ in
         HIVE_AGENT_SOCKET = "/run/hive-agent/${userName}/agent.sock";
         RUST_LOG = "info";
       }
-      # Homeserver URL: by default the daemon inherits the host-forwarded
-      # HIVE_MATRIX_URL (set by hive-c0re to `matrix.<domain>` via the
-      # gateway, since agents run in private netns and can't reach host
-      # loopback directly), falling back to the daemon's built-in
-      # localhost default if the forward is absent. A per-agent
-      # `hyperhive.matrix.url` override (non-default) is set unit-level
-      # so it wins over the forwarded value; at the default we
-      # deliberately DON'T set it so the forwarded value isn't shadowed.
-      // lib.optionalAttrs (config.hyperhive.matrix.url != matrixUrlDefault) {
+      # Homeserver URL. hive-c0re writes this option per agent from the
+      # hive's own `matrix.<domain>` gateway URL (agents run in a private
+      # netns and cannot reach host loopback), so on a real hive it is
+      # always set; `null` is the honest "this agent has no homeserver"
+      # and leaves the daemon without one, which it treats like a missing
+      # token and no-ops. Nothing here falls back to loopback: that would
+      # be a value that evaluates fine and then addresses the agent's own
+      # netns instead of the homeserver.
+      // lib.optionalAttrs (config.hyperhive.matrix.url != null) {
         HIVE_MATRIX_URL = config.hyperhive.matrix.url;
       }
       # Multi-account: serialize the *extra* accounts to the JSON the
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix
index 3021eb18..956a23af 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-c0re/environment.nix
@@ -100,18 +100,38 @@ in
   # gated on hyperhive being enabled). See `docs/gateway.md::HIVE_FORGE_URL`.
   HIVE_FORGE_URL = "http://${config.services.hyperhive.forge.domain}";
 }
-// lib.optionalAttrs config.services.hyperhive.matrix.enable {
-  # In-cluster matrix homeserver URL for each agent's
-  # hive-matrix-daemon — the gateway vhost (`matrix.<domain>`). The
-  # gatewayHost null-guard falls back to loopback so a domain-less
-  # config still evals. Forwarded to agents by meta.rs alongside
-  # HIVE_FORGE_URL; shares the same env-forwarding ordering caveat
-  # (value baked at config-generation time).
-  HIVE_MATRIX_URL =
-    if config.services.hyperhive.matrix.gatewayHost != null then
-      "http://${config.services.hyperhive.matrix.gatewayHost}"
-    else
-      "http://127.0.0.1:${toString config.services.hyperhive.matrix.httpPort}";
+//
+  lib.optionalAttrs
+    (config.services.hyperhive.matrix.enable && config.services.hyperhive.matrix.gatewayHost != null)
+    {
+      # In-cluster matrix homeserver URL for each agent's
+      # hive-matrix-daemon — the gateway vhost (`matrix.<domain>`).
+      # Forwarded to agents by meta.rs alongside HIVE_FORGE_URL; shares the
+      # same env-forwarding ordering caveat (value baked at
+      # config-generation time).
+      #
+      # A domain-less config forwards nothing rather than falling back to
+      # loopback. The old fallback read as harmless because hive-c0re shares
+      # the host netns — but the value it produced was handed to *agents*,
+      # which do not, so `127.0.0.1` there names the agent itself. An absent
+      # forward leaves `hyperhive.matrix.url` null and the daemon no-ops;
+      # that is the honest answer when the hive has no matrix vhost to point
+      # at.
+      HIVE_MATRIX_URL = "http://${config.services.hyperhive.matrix.gatewayHost}";
+    }
+// lib.optionalAttrs (config.services.hyperhive.matrix.apiUrl != null) {
+  # Client-server API base hive-c0re uses to provision matrix (register
+  # agent users, create the hive space + chat room, invite members).
+  # Supplied by `services.hyperhive.matrix.apiUrl`, which the matrix
+  # module fills in with its own loopback listener when it is the thing
+  # running tuwunel — and which the operator sets by hand when the
+  # homeserver lives on another machine.
+  #
+  # NOT the agent-facing HIVE_MATRIX_URL above: that one is the gateway
+  # vhost, and it is absent whenever there is no vhost. Reusing it here
+  # would silently stop provisioning on a hive that runs matrix without
+  # one.
+  HIVE_MATRIX_API_URL = config.services.hyperhive.matrix.apiUrl;
 }
 // lib.optionalAttrs config.services.hyperhive.matrix.gui.enable {
   # Availability flags read by the dashboard's `/api/state`.
diff --git a/nix/host-modules/hive-matrix.nix b/nix/host-modules/hive-matrix.nix
index 98fed0db..0f973ea9 100644
--- a/nix/host-modules/hive-matrix.nix
+++ b/nix/host-modules/hive-matrix.nix
@@ -147,6 +147,37 @@ in
       '';
     };
 
+    apiUrl = lib.mkOption {
+      type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.str;
+      default = if cfg.enable then "http://127.0.0.1:${toString cfg.httpPort}" else null;
+      defaultText = lib.literalExpression ''
+        if services.hyperhive.matrix.enable
+        then "http://127.0.0.1:''${toString services.hyperhive.matrix.httpPort}"
+        else null
+      '';
+      example = "https://matrix.example.com";
+      description = ''
+        Client-server API base URL **hive-c0re itself** uses to
+        provision matrix (register agent users, create the hive space
+        and chat room, invite members). Distinct from the agent-facing
+        `hyperhive.matrix.url`, which is the gateway vhost handed to
+        each agent's `hive-matrix-daemon`.
+
+        Defaults to the loopback listener **only when this module is the
+        thing running tuwunel** — in that case the address is not a
+        guess, it is where this module just put the container. Set it
+        explicitly (with `enable = false`) when the homeserver runs on
+        another machine; "everything on one host" is a special case of
+        the full deployment, not the assumption.
+
+        `null` means hive-c0re has no homeserver to provision against
+        and matrix provisioning no-ops. There is deliberately no
+        fallback compiled into the daemon: an address baked into the
+        binary is one that builds fine and then talks to the wrong
+        machine.
+      '';
+    };
+
     gatewayHost = lib.mkOption {
       type = lib.types.nullOr lib.types.str;
       default = "matrix.${hyperhiveDomain}";